Ensconced in the Tuscan hillside, the new FENDI factory in Capannuccia, outside Florence, Italy recalls the brand’s artisanal past, present, and future. It is here, in the sculptural, airy atrium of the FENDI’s newest facility, that the FENDI Men's Spring/Summer 2024 collection debuted. Designed by Artistic Director of Accessories and Menswear, Silvia Venturini Fendi, the collection honored the brand’s recent return to Florence, where Silvia Venturini Fendi’s grandmother traveled from Rome to learn the art of leather craftsmanship almost a century ago. 

Reflecting the brand’s evergreen interest in process, exploring the liminality between the industrial space and the handiwork of man, the collection and the show explored the perpetual tension between nature and innovation. Conducted as a dual presentation, first to the artisans within the factory and then open to press, guests, and friends of the House, the runway show re-articulated the dialogue between the workman and the industry.

With an eye towards ‘corporate artisanship,’ the season’s silhouette plays with proportion and utility: patch pockets of workwear belts could be witnessed across the entire collection, sweeping suggestions of handiwork, like that of the apron were suggested by halter-neck collared shirts and skirts. Suffused within the collection’s light summer wools and nettle fibre knitwear, mineral shades of burnt umber, terracotta, hazy sage and chalky neutrals harkened the chromatic subtleties of Tuscan terrain.

The accessories collection featured woven baskets, knotted jacquard lunch bags, raffia-embroidered weekenders and rigid FF luggage. The spectrum of structures displayed within the bag shapes complement new Baguette and Peekaboo styles, which consist of dyed textiles, debossed leather ‘scales’, and trompe l’oeil ‘pattern-print’ graphics.

Among the guests in attendance at the event sat Diplo, Jeremy Pope, Alexander Skarsgård, and Nicholas Galitzine. Also in attendance was British actor Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Italian Actor Massimiliano Caiazzo, Japanese actor Shohei Miura, Chinese actor, singer and dancer Luo Yizhou,Taiwanese multi-award winning actor Greg Hsu, French actor Louis Garrel, Belgian Oscar nominated actor Eden Dambrine, and Chinese artist Oscar Wang.

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